A magnetic memory cell or device stores information by changing electrical resistance of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element. The MTJ element typically includes a thin insulating tunnel barrier layer sandwiched between a magnetically fixed layer and a magnetically free layer, forming a magnetic tunnel junction. Magnetic orientations of the fixed and free layers may be in a vertical direction, forming a perpendicular MTJ (or pMTJ) element. The pMTJ element could be either in a bottom pinned pMTJ element or a top pinned pMTJ element. The bottom pinned pMTJ element is formed by having the magnetically fixed layer disposed below the magnetically free layer 117 while the top pinned pMTJ element is formed by having the fixed layer disposed above the free layer. In order to obtain strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) for the fixed layer, a well crystal orientation of the fixed layer is required. Several conventional techniques have been proposed to improve PMA for the fixed layer. However, these conventional techniques undesirably lead to reduced thermal budget and thermal endurance of the pMTJ stack.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a pMTJ element with improved PMA and enhanced thermal endurance and thermal budget. Furthermore, it is also desirable to provide a process for forming such pMTJ element which is cost effective and compatible with logic processing.